International Journal of Tropical Insect Science (2014) 34, S73-S81

M. Teresa Vera, Andrea Oviedo, Solana Abraham, M. Josefina Ruiz, M. Mendoza, Chiou Ling Chang and Eduardo Willink (2014)
Development of a larval diet for the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae)
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science 34 (S1), S73-S81
Abstract: Mass-rearing protocols must be developed, in particular, a cost-effective larval diet, to implement the sterile insect technique against Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann). The key elements of this diet are the optimal nutrients and their concentrations, diet supports or bulking agents, and the pH of the diet. To improve the currently used formulation and develop a more cost-effective diet, in the present study, we evaluated various supports, sugar contents, nutrient proportions and pH levels. Egg-to-pupa recovery was found to increase when agar was replaced with sponge cloth in the diet. Although low, the recovery values obtained when using the sugarcane bagasse-based diet were similar to those obtained when using the agar-based diet, but the percentage of adult emergence was lower. Larval viability was found to increase when the amount of sugar in the diet was doubled. Yet, it is still necessary to evaluate this diet on a larger scale and determine the feasibility of reusing the sponge cloth to reduce the costs of larval diets.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): M. Teresa Vera, Solana Abraham, Andrea Veronica de Oviedo, Chiou Ling Chang

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
rearing/culturing/mass production

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Anastrepha fraterculus